Hi! My name is Sam, and I started this blog to help other injured people. Before you start reading, let me tell you a little about myself. Ten years ago, I slipped on a slice of fruit in a grocery store. My leg slid out from under me, and in a freak twist, it was rendered useless. I could no longer work and struggled with intense pain every day. Luckily, I found an accident and injury attorney who was able to get me the compensation I needed to cover my medical bills and my lost time at work. However, while I waited for the settlement to come through, I had to get creative physically and financially. This blog is dedicated to anyone who is in that limbo position. I hope the posts here help you decide what to do while you wait for the results of your trial.
If you aren't getting the financial compensation you need after an accident in which you've been injured, you more than likely need to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you don't have the money for a lawyer, you generally don't need to worry; if you have a good case, chances are a personal injury attorney will take your case for a contingency fee. That means that they'll receive their fees from any settlement or award you get, usually in the form of a percentage. Unless you've been through it before, contingency fees can be a tad confusing, mainly because a lot of people confuse them with pro bono representation.
It Is Not Pro Bono
So, contingency fees are fees that are contingent on you winning your case and getting an award. Pro bono is representation that's done for free, where the lawyer does not expect any payment for representation. Pro bono work might include community legal-aid work for people who can't afford lawyers' fees but need legal assistance in one form or another; the work could also be for legal cases regarding constitutional or government issues that do not involve money. Technically, a lawyer could take an injury case pro bono, but that's unlikely. The legal fees keep the lawyer's staff paid, so contingency would be more than likely in a standard personal injury case.
The Potential Award Is the Key
Should you not win your case, your lawyer, if they worked on contingency, would not receive their fees. If you were to win, the lawyer would likely get a percentage of the award (the amount of which would be pre-arranged, of course) rather than a specific hourly fee totaled up over the duration of the case. Note that your case really has to be good for the lawyer to agree to take it; with their fee at stake, a lawyer isn't going to be keen on taking a case that they consider too risky and most likely to lose. But, that's where the consultation comes in: You arrange to speak with the lawyer about what happened and discuss whether they think there is enough evidence to win.
Ensure You Know What Your Insurance Company Will Do, Too
Be aware that if you sue someone over a personal injury that required you to get medical care that was paid for by Medicare, then you may have to reimburse Medicare. And, even if you didn't have Medicare, if you receive a settlement or award, the hospital that provided the care may try to get that money from you to make up for low reimbursement rates from your health insurance. Those scenarios would certainly affect how much of your award could help you. You must discuss this with the lawyer to find out how to protect settlements and awards so that you can have the financial compensation you need without it being taken away.
Reach out to a personal injury law firm like Henley & Henley, PC to learn more.
Share19 October 2022
